Sometimes you just have to admit you were wrong.A few weeks ago I wrote a review of LC's
single 'Tell Me What It's Worth,' and I said some pretty terrible things about
the song.There was a Magic Numbers link
in there – which is one of the worst things you can say about a song.It all seemed too sugary and unworldly, but I
accept now that I completely missed the point – and wish to offer a sincere
apology to Dev Hynes for the misguided words I produced.

What changed?Well, it was
hearing the album.Alone, the singles
may have sounded like bits of shiny pop, and the sheer colourfulness of it all
is enough to put off any hardened cynic.If you take it on face value and don't even listen to the lyrics, well
you can easily jump to the wrong conclusions.One the surface it was just shiny summery pop music and not something
that is going to cause you to be even remotely interested.But sometimes it pays to give something a
little time – and what we have here is a potential classic; a wealth of ideas
and something of a story to tell.The
imagery isn't as pretty as the packaging, and thank God for that.

If there is a theme running through the album it's that of mixed
messages.The tunes themselves are often
rather pretty, and the whole set-up borders on musical theatre.But the lyrical content is far from shiny,
and it has to be the song-writing that makes the album stand out.The delivery of the vocals falls in the line
of Morrissey, or Martin Rossiter from Gene, but the words being sung are far
more original than either.

The lyrics run throughout as a stream of consciousness – they feel very
honest and personal – not so much in a baring the soul kind of way, but just
express relatively unique feelings.
The melodies themselves often seem upbeat, certainly theatrical.

Exemplar of all of this is the centrepiece ten minute epic 'Midnight
Surprise.'At first it seems like
straightforward pop single, with a chorus not that far removed from
'Everlasting Love' (tell me I'm wrong about this!).Quite sweet sentiment and it all seems fairly
nice and unrequited love.Then “Fuck, I
think she just saw me.”And it goes
somewhere else.It's a big band
performance, a fair amount of strings and clear sections (arrangements akin to
some of Bright Eyes' larger numbers) – essentially a modern classical piece turned
into a big pop number.The time just
flies by.

'Lavenders...' is a series of tales of a feckless young man who is only
too happy to admit his faults.'Galaxy
of the Lost' is an early sign of the tales of slightly grim stories that are to
follow. A rather dirty love affair mixed
in with a healthy dose of narcissism.'I
Could Have Done This Myself' is an awkward tale of losing his virginity, and
although it's an experience unique to him, it's told in a way so you can at
least sympathise with.These are his
stories, but they could have been yours in a way.They speak more about your life than a
million pithy lines from Kate Nash.They
are self-detrimental, but spoken with a fondness towards his own weaknesses –
lullabies laced in a real sadness.

These songs all tell stories that are tangible.You can picture them, from the mood just as
much as the lyrics.The songs are catchy
and tuneful, and they have much more depth than you may originally think.There is a huge variety of ideas on here and
they flow very well.There aren't really
many moments that don't fit.To redeem
myself, I would say that the previously slated 'Tell Me What It's Worth' is the
weakest song on there, but the perhaps says more about how good the rest of it
is.

So, yes, I have to
admit I was wrong – but on the plus side, here is a great album to soften that
blow.